JULIE FRACKLETON, 44, hopes to do all she can to raise awareness of the symptoms of secondary breast cancer, as well as inspiring others with the disease.

Julie says she has always been a glass half full kind of person and cancer won't change that

WHEN Julie Frackleton was told she could have just six months to live she applied to take part in the Breast Cancer Care fashion show – in six months’ time.

Julie volunteered to become a model the day she was told the breast cancer she thought she had put behind her had spread to her liver and her bones.

Despite Julie’s medical team telling her they could not cure her secondary breast cancer, they vowed to do everything in their power to keep her feeling as well as possible and living as long as she could.

And now, as Julie looks forward to her appearance on the Breast Cancer Care catwalk in just a few weeks’ time, she revealed she not only feels full of life but she is making plans for the years ahead.

Julie, 44, said: “From the minute I was told I had secondary breast cancer I knew there was nothing I could do to change the diagnosis but that didn’t mean I had to give up or give into it.

“When my scan results came back showing that my cancer had spread, my oncologist told me that if I didn’t have further treatment then it was likely I would be dead in six months.

“Part of me immediately started counting six months ahead – and thinking how terrible it was that I wouldn’t even see Christmas.

“But that was only a worst case scenario if I didn’t have any further treatment and I decided that wasn’t the path I wanted to go down.

“Cancer treatments have come on so much in recent years.

“The oncologist told me they now have an armoury of drugs they can treat the cancer with – and if one drug doesn’t work they can simply move on to the next, and the next.

“I realised secondary breast cancer doesn’t have to mean that you are dying from cancer but rather that you are living with it.

“I plan to live my life to the full and applying to take part in the Breast Cancer Care fashion show was just the first step.”

Julie was first diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2009.

She had an operation to remove a lump followed by both chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

She was then put on a five-year course of the drug tamoxifen.

She was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in March.

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Julie and her partner Gerry have stayed strong together

Julie said: “When I was first treated for breast cancer everyone thought the treatment had worked and I was told I was cancer free.

“There had been no sign of the disease in my lymph nodes and they were happy they had removed all the cancer.

“But they now think that a few cancer cells had managed to break off before the operation and had been lying dormant somewhere.

“I started getting symptoms the cancer had returned last year but I had no idea the pain I was feeling might have anything to do with it.”

Julie’s first sign that all was not well was an aching back, followed by pain in her shoulder blades, then her side.

Julie said: “I have always been quite a fit person who loves going to the gym, skiing, cycling and walking – so when my back first started to get achy I thought I had overdone it at Zumba.

“Since my first brush with cancer I thought I knew a lot about the disease but I was blissfully ignorant that an aching back that wasn’t getting better should have set an alarm bell ringing.

“I never linked the two.”

Julie attempted to ease her back pain through everything from heat pads, to massage, to using a Tens machine.

When it continued to worsen she visited a chiropractor who worked on her back to realign her spine.

She also visited a physiotherapist to help relax what she thought were tight muscle spasms.

When the pain continued further Julie saw a GP who gave her a month-long course of muscle relaxants.

When she went back to her doctors’ surgery she saw a different GP, who arranged for her to see her oncologist.

Julie said: “I had never seen this GP before but almost as soon as I was in her office she said she had read my notes and asked when I had last seen my cancer team.

“She explained that the pain I was by now feeling down my back, in my hip and in my side could be something to do with my previous breast cancer.

“She was very good not to worry me but told me she thought it was a good idea for me to see the oncologist and that she would ask for some bone scans and a MRI scan to be carried out.

“By this time I had probably been living with the pain for about four months and I could hardly walk. Driving was very difficult, I had lost about two stone and I had no energy.”

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Julie with Gerry on a ski trip in France ahead of receiving her test results

Julie attended hospital where she underwent a wide range of tests.

But instead of waiting at home for her results, she and partner Gerry Gemmell went on a ski trip to France.

Julie said: “It sounds ridiculous but we had booked this holiday months earlier so decided just to go.

“Gerry was due to go into hospital too, for a hip operation, so we were both a couple of crocks on the ski slope but I did manage to get a few runs in.

“We spent more money in the chemist buying painkillers than we did on trips up the ski lifts but despite everything we did have a relaxing time.”

When Julie returned from France she was told the cancer had spread to her spine, shoulder blades, pelvis, leg bones and her liver.

She began a powerful course of chemotherapy, as well as being given bone-strengthening injections.

And while she continues to be closely monitored by her medical team, she says she has no intention of worrying about what the future holds.

Julie, who works for Standard Life, said: “I have always been a glass half full kind of person and that is not going to change now.

“I applied to be a Breast Cancer Care model and since then I have also applied to be a volunteer helper at the Commonwealth Games next year.

“As a keen cyclist it would be amazing to help out at one of the cycling events but I know I will have to wait and see if I get accepted, as I have told them I have secondary breast cancer.

“I am just recovering from the chemotherapy, which has helped shrink my tumours, and I am taking it easy and getting my strength back.

“But I have so many goals – from getting back on my bike to returning to work.”

Julie also hopes to do all she can to raise awareness of the symptoms of secondary breast cancer, as well as inspiring others with the disease.

Julie said: “I knew nothing about secondary breast cancer, its symptoms or what a secondary diagnosis could mean but I know now.

“I’m delighted to have been chosen as a model in the Breast Cancer Care fashion show, as I’m hoping I can use my appearance as a platform to help raise awareness and show other people that you can still enjoy life.”